Winnipeg Wobbly

With the mayoral election over, it's more of Same ol' Sam. While no progressive Winnipegger wanted to see Katz win, the question remains on how much real 'change' would Judy have really brought?

While the Opposition on the City Council may a little stronger, BUT we need to build real opposition on the street, in our communities. Remember: direct action gets the goods, not dropping a piece of paper into a box.

The piece originally appeared in Winnipeg Wobbly #5.

The Winnipeg Municipal Elections: “if voting changed anything, it would be made Illegal"

Winnipeg‘s mayoral election takes place on Oct. 27, 2010. While the race has been closing, incumbent mayor and tool of the business community Sam Katz is expected to win re-election against left-leaning candidate and former NDP MP Judy Wascylycia-Leis. Beyond that, there is a battle between an alliance of the center-left for council against the right, with the left hoping to pick up enough seats to be able to exercise some control over council instead of being consistently shut out and out-voted approximately 11-5 on almost all serious issues. It has been a lacklustre campaign, nearly devoid of any serious issues or defining moments.



Much of the Winnipeg left has hitched their hopes to the candidacy of Wascylycia-Leis, in some ways understandably so given the record of Sam Katz. Katz‘ pro-business, neoliberal agenda has threatened many city workers and has opened up Winnipeg‘s wastewater system to privatization at the hands of Veolia, a multinational corporation known for poor records in other jurisdictions. Veolia is also involved in transportation projects supporting Israeli apartheid in the West Bank, and their practices around the world have caused Stockholm city council to reject their bids for a project. Also, Katz‘ record on transit is appalling.



Judy, on the other hand, has not promoted serious alternatives and in some ways has been trying to reach out more to the business community than actual working people – see her Tory blue campaign signs, or her promise to create a business advisory council. Still, her position on property taxes might be a small concession to reality compared to Sam Katz.



While there is much excitement around Wascylycia-Leis in some quarters of the left, it seems as though aside from a panel hosted by the New Socialist Group a few months
back, there is little in the way of serious discussion of overall strategy. The Winnipeg Citizens Coalition, an alliance of NDPers and Liberals, seems to be solely focused on electing Judy, defeating Katz‘ allies on council, and divvying up the seats among themselves. The Manitoba NDP, now officially endorsing candidates in the municipal election, is not much different. All of this is based on classic parliamentary liberal/social democratic strategies – electing enough "good people" that they can take care of issues for you (although they will need you as fodder for their election machines). Sometimes this strategy is tinged with some lip service towards grassroots organizing – the idea of electing people who will be more receptive to lobbying efforts.



Changing how Winnipeg is run will require a shift in our politics. We need to get away from the liberal politics of elect and lobby, and into radical, community-based extra-parliamentary organizing. The politics of lobbying are all too often based on manipulating any grassroots initiatives so an elite within the movement can enjoy a chat with politicians – and more often than not get blown off. This also changes the structure of movements, resulting in a centralization of creative efforts and the "important" work of lobbying in the hands of a trusted few who can stay "on message". In the long run, this is a self-defeating strategy, as it is disempowering and is based on some rather silly notions of how society works (that liberal capitalist "democracy" is actually democratic, for one).



But as we can‘t talk tactics without talking strategy, we can‘t talk strategy without seriously discussing how society works. Do we live in a democracy, where the will of the people rules, or do we live under capitalism, where the owners of capital rule consistently, regardless of any changes of face at the political level?



We need to start seriously organizing and rocking it out. Organize in our communities, in our workplaces, on our campuses, and in the streets, and maybe one day there will be a second Winnipeg General Strike.



There also needs to be some serious conversation in Winnipeg about dealing with issues like urban sprawl. In addition to making our city require more roads, sewers, and pollution-spewing cars, as well as making it more difficult to provide decent transit service to all city residents, urban sprawl has serious effects on the political culture of Winnipeg. It isolates communities from each other and promotesa suburban mentality, which is something that needs to be overcome. Yet, this is an issue not being touched by any of our political elite, left or otherwise.



While Judy will likely be marginally better than Sam, we shouldn‘t fall into the trap of electoralism. At the end of the day, if voting ever changed anything, they would have made it illegal.



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